(2.) He enlargeth upon the doctrine he had before maintained, concerning the misery of wicked people, and the ruin that attends them, ver. 5-21. In which he seems all along to have an eye to Job's complaints of the miserable condition he was in, that he was in the dark, bewildered, ensnared, terrified, and hastening out of the world. Why this saith Bildad, is the condition of a wicked man, and therefore thou art one.

VER. 14. "And it shall bring him to the king of terrors."-Death may be fitly compared to a king, for its universal power, reign, and sovereignty over mankind; and as a "king of terrors," which death is to the natural man; as it is a dissolution of nature, a separation from every friend and enjoyment; as the eyes must see no more, and the ears must hear no more; the feet must walk no more, the tongue must speak no more, nor can any friend or happiness in this life be any more enjoyed. This is terrible to the mind of him that has his heart and affections fixed on things below, and that has no portion or inheritance in things above. And it is by the death of Christ that death loseth all its terrible array to the christian; for the believer's nature shudders at death at times as well as the unbeliever's, and it is only by faith in Christ's death, triumphs, and resurrection, that the believer can rejoice, and say, "O death! where is thy sting ?"

CHAPTER XIX.

This chapter is Job's answer to Bildad's discourse in the foregoing. Though his spirit was grieved and much heated, and Bildad was very peevish, yet he gave him leave to say all he designed to say, and did not break in upon him in the midst of his argument; but when he had done, gave him a fair answer, in which, 1. He complains of unkind usage. And very unkindly he takes it, (1.) That his comforters added to his affliction, ver. 2-7. (2) That his God was the author of his affliction, ver. 8-12. (3.) That his relations and friends were strange to him, and shy of him in his affliction, ver. 13-19. (4.) That he had no compassion shewed him in his affliction, ver. 20-22. 2. He comforts himself with the believing hopes of happiness in the other world, though he had so little comfort in this, making a very solemn confession of his faith, with a desire it might be recorded as an evi dence of his sincerity, ver. 23-27. 3. He concludes with a caution to his friends not to persist in their hard censures of him, ver. 28, 29. If the remonstrance Job here makes of his grievances may serve sometimes to justify our complaints, yet his cheerful views of the future state at the same time may serve to silence our complaints.

VER. 7. "I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard."] This shews that a real christian may be in the greatest

distress, and yet not be heard in his prayers by the God of heaven: which may lead them to see, that God is a sove reign being, that he is not moved by their afflictions, nor drawn to love them by their duties, but that he will relieve them when it is his sovereign pleasure to do it all is resolved in the depths of his own will. The Lord defers to send relief when his people cry out of wrong, that he may make their relief and deliverance from wrong more sweet when he sends it: it is therefore long in coming, that it may be more welcome when it comes. They who cry out of wrong, and are not heard after many cries, when once they are heard, how do they sing for joy!

'A godly man is under a great trial of faith, and strong temptation, when he cries to God, and is not heard.' As when satan tempts us, there is a great conflict between the flesh and the spirit, about the doing of good and the refusing of evil; so about our receiving of good and the removing of evil; when we cry to God, and he is pleased to tempt us by deferring to hear us. Then the spirit hopes, and the flesh doubts; the spirit labours to maintain believing thoughts, and the flesh labours to raise desponding, yea, despairing thoughts. David was so hard put to it upon this account, that though be made no conclusions against the graciousness of God, yet he could not avoid the putting, no, nor the doubling, and more than trebling of the question about it, Psalm lxxvii. 7, 8, 9. "Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more? is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore? hath God forgotten to be gracious?" &c. How full of queries was the spirit of David when he could get no answers? And though faith lay all this while in the bottom of David's heart, yet that which lay at the bottom of these queries was his infirmity, as himself discovers, ver. 10. "And I said, this is my infirmity." It argues a great degree, and much strength of grace, when we maintain high thoughts of God, and settled resolves that he is good, when he not only lets us fall low into trouble, but lets us lie unheard in the day of our trou. ble. Such was the strength of David's faith, or rather of Christ's, of whose sufferings that psalm is a prophecy; who as soon as he had said, "O my God, I cry in the day-time, but thou hearest not," &c. Psalm xxii. 2. adds in the next verse, "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel." As if he had said, 'I will not have an evil or an uncomely thought of thec, though thou refusest

to hear; I know thou art holy, and therefore canst not but be just and good, whatsoever thou art pleased to do with me.' Every soul arrives not at this freedom of faith. The denial of an answer to prayer puts most upon complaints and queries; and so it doth, especially while they consider how explicitly and clearly the Lord hath engaged himself to answer prayer, and to relieve his people when they cry; yea, the Lord hath engaged, not only to hear them when they cry (which notes earnest strong prayer) but to hear them in their weakest sincere addresses in prayer, when they do but whisper and breathe towards him. The promise is peremptory, Psalm 1. 15. "Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee." No trial to the christian is greater than this.

Ver. 13. "He hath put my brethren far from me."]It is a greater affliction to a christian to find his brethren unkind and ungrateful to him in the time of his distress and affliction; but even these changes of their affections are from the Lord, and the alienation of their mind is for the trial of their faith, to shew the emptiness of the creature, and to bring us to rest in the bosom of a faithful God, knowing that there is no friend that we can at all times confide in, but God himself.

Ver. 21. "Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me."]The word in the original signifies have bowels of mercy, denoting that his case called for the tenderest mercy and the greatest measure of compassion from them. When the hand of God touches us, it makes us sensibly and earnestly cry out for mercy. He that is convinced of guilt, cries, Pardon, pardon; and he that is convinced of his corrupt heart and sinful defilements, cries, Grace, grace. Jesus Christ is to such therefore altogether desirable, because he bath in him a suitable supply of all our wants. If we are weak, he is strength for us; if we are ignorant, he is wisdom for us; if we are guilty, he is righteousness; if we are hungry, he is bread for us; if we are naked, he is clothing if we are in the dark, he is light to us; if we are dead, be is life for us. "Christ is all in all;" and he is all to all. He is all by way of comprehension, as having all fulness in him; and he is all in all by way of distribution, as filling all with his fulness. In Christ we have all that we want or can desire for good; he is called "the desire of all nations," because all nations shall desire him, and shall receive from him the accomplishment of all

their desires. And as all our desires are found in Christ, so is that especially which Job so earnestly desired, namely, pity. "For it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful high priest, even touched with the feeling of our infirmities, having been in all points tempted like as we are, only without sin."

Ver. 23. "Oh, that my words were now written! oh, that they were printed in a book!"]-Though some think that these words of Job refer to his life of sorrows and sufferings, or to what he had said, yet they are rather to be understood of what he was about to say: for at this time he found a fulness, or a divine illumination upon his mind, to express something great, weighty, and glorious. And his words are indeed worthy to be wrote in letters of gold, as they are rather expressive of the faith of an apostle of the new testament than of a saint in the old; for they contain the great and transcendent knowledge that Job had of his Redeemer, of the glory of his resurrection, the final happiness of the saints, and of his own salvation in that day therefore he says, "Oh, that my words were written!" As though he had said, 'If any words deserve to be enrolled, or to be engraved, or to be written, surely the words of my faith in my Redeemer, as my Redeemer, in his resurrection and glorious appearance as my salvation, deserve this honour.' The Hebrew word signifies a request to be obtained with difficulty: Who will give me? As though Job looked upon the writing down of his words as a favour too great to be granted to him by his friends in his afflicted state, yet he was earnest to obtain it.

"Oh, that they were printed in a book!"]-The word here rendered printed, in the original signifies to set down, to engross, or describe authoratatively, as a law or statute, fixed, settled, and determined: which shews the strength and firmness of Job's faith in Christ, as his living Redeemer, and his earnest desire that the words of his faith, for the comfort of others and his Redeemer's honour, might be sealed with divine authority, and preserved among the records of heaven, which were written and kept in rolls or volumes of parchment, frequently called "the volume of the book," Psalm xl. 7. for printing does not appear to have been know till about three hundred years ago, it being invented about the year 1440.

Ver. 24. "That they were graven with an iron pen and lead, in the rock for ever!"-Not that we are to understand that Job desired his word to be engraven with a pen of

lead, for that is not durable and lasting, neither can it be used upon a rock, but that they might be engraven with an iron pen upon lead, that is, upon sheets of lead, to be erected and to stand as a pillar or testimony of his faith; for iron pens were anciently used for this purpose, Jer. xvii. 1. Now Job's desire was that his words of faith might not be blotted out, but that they might be engraven, to stand and abide, as a standing testimony of his faith and love.

A saint, under a lively discovery of the love of God to his soul, desires that his faith may be remembered as a testimony to all ages, for the honour of God, and the encouragement of his people.

"In the rock for ever!"]-As though Job had said, 'Words perish and are not remembered, and books and volumes may be consumed, therefore let my faith in my Redeemer, which is my consolation under my afflictions, be engraved on a rock, that is, lasting, durable, and permanent, which time cannot destroy, or fire consume; that my faith might stand to all ages for the comfort of the saints, that they may know that Job was tried but not destroyed, was afflicted by God, by satan, by his friends, by his wife, and by his enemies, but not consumed; was put in the furnace, tried, and refined, yet delivered.' O how wonderful is divine grace displayed under great afflictions!

Ver. 25. For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth."]--The bishops' translation is, For I am sure that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall raise up at the latter day them that lie in the dust.' These words are a glorious testimony of the strength of Job's faith and salvation in his living Redeemer; which shews that faith hath all the certainty of heaven to depend upon; therefore he speaks with such an assurance and confidence.

"For I know."]-- Which is knowing upon the greatest certainty, knowing without all wavering: as if Job had said, My judgment is fixed, and my faith confirmed in this thing; it is as clear to me that my Redeemer liveth, as if I had already seen him alive. It is as sure to me that I shall rise again, as if I had been dead, and were already risen. My faith makes this as evident to me now, as my experi ence shall hereafter.' For faith is the evidence of things hoped for.

Note. The word redeemer suits Christ; for goel, or redeemer, signifies one that is near to us in consanguinity, one of our blood, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh.